River Kayak Fly Fishing

When the average person thinks of fly fishing, they often have visions of tweed jackets and bamboo rods waving out in the middle of some far off mountain stream. The reality is that most of the Free State Fly Fishers do not own tweed jackets, don't get to run off to a mountain stream that often, and are generally afraid to fish bamboo rods for fear of breaking them. FSFF members turn to their local options for moving water and big fish action that is a rarity in any mountain stream by sliding down the muddy banks to do a little river kayak fly fishing.
These plastic watercraft are becoming more popular as a cheap fly fishing boat and lend themselves to a variety of water conditions with the ability to stalk aquatic prey in areas inaccessible by foot or pontoon. While Kansas doesn't have any mountain streams, it does have a good number of creeks and rivers that host a plethora of catfish, panfish, carp and gar that will get your heart beating while cruising log jams, hopping logs and side casting under low trees from a kayak. With their tough construction, they can be launched from almost any creek or river bank with little effort and hold up to scraping rocks, subsurface trees and unidentified car body that is home to 1 or 2 blue catfish in the Kansas river.
New kayak designs with the large cockpits and storage options are ideal for hauling a number of fly rods, fly boxes, reels, barley pops, and other essential gear for a afternoon or full day of fishing fun, not to mention, much easier to get in and out of. The long sleek design of a 10 or 12 foot model will glide easily on both on moving water and local lakes, making it a multi-tasker watercraft. New paddle designs offer even a fledgling kayak fly fisher the stealthiness of a blue heron when stalking feeding fish and the ability to slide into shallow water inaccessible by larger boats.
If you decide to take the plunge and purchase a kayak, a couple tips to make your investment a good one are to test the model on water before buying and pick one that be easily managed by one person when loading and unloading. Kayaks come in two basic styles, the classic sit-in version that allows the passenger(s) to set at or slightly below water level and the sit-on that places the paddler on a floating deck above the water. Both are extremly hard to tip over and flood, but the sit-on is impossible to sink. Both also allow for easy casting of a fly rod and bringing fish to hand while out on the water. The rest of the choices you will make are of personal preference, but here are a couple generalities that may help.

Longer kayaks track better in the water and wind than shorter ones.

Sit-in kayaks lower your center of gravity vs. sit-on.

Sit-on are easier to get on and off than sit-in.

Save your money on "extras" until you find out what you need.

A good new kayak will generally run from $350 - $700 and last easily 15-20+ yrs.